Tracker-board.



No. 802,079. PATENTED OCT. 17, 1905. E. DE KLEIST.

TRACKER BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED DE@J s, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 802,079. PATENTBD OCT. 17, 1905.

E. DE KLEIST.

TRACKER BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED 1220.9. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

VPATENT OFFIOE.

UNITED STATES TRACKER-BOARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17,1905.

Application filed December 9,1904. Serial No. 236,151.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that LEUGENE DE KLEIsT, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Tonawanda, in the county of Niagara and State of New York,have invented new and useful Improvements in Tracker-Boards, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the tracker-boards which are employed in connection with perforated music-sheets in piano-players, automatic pianos, and other self-playing musical instruments. In order to obtain the best results, such music-sheets must travel in close contact with the tracker-board throughout their width. Comparatively wide sheets are more liable to warp or become distorted under atmospheric changes than narrow ones, and it is therefore desirable to make the sheets as narrow as possible. VVhenthe sheets are narrow, their perforations must necessarily be small and placed very closely together.

It is the object of my invention to provide a tracker-board which will permit the use of narrower music-sheets than those hitherto in use and yet afford comparatively large air ducts or passages at the base of the board for the attachment of the usual rubber tubes or other conduits, which connect the board with the pneumatic action of the musical instrument.

In the accompanying' drawings, consisting of two sheets, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the improved tracker-board. Fig. 9. is a cross-section thereof in line 2 Q, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the board. Fig. A is a similar view with the top section of the board removed. Fig. 5 is a similar view with the two upper sections omitted. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the base or bottom section of the board. Fig. 7 is a vertical longitudinal section of the transverselygrooved blank from which the second section' is formed. Fig. 8 is a cross-section in line 8 8, Fig. 7.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The tracker-board is laminated or built up of a number of superposed layers or sections, preferably four, as shown in the drawings.

The top section A has a row of small vertical ducts or perforations a extending through the same and corresponding to the number of notes or tones and actions which the instrument containing the board is capable of producing. This top section is preferably coniposed of two strips a a2 of wood glued together edge to edge, one of the strips having a row of notches cut or sawed in itsinner edge, the open ends of which notches are closed by the opposing smooth edge of the other strip, as shown in Fig. 3.

The second or intermediate upper section B is provided with a series of narrow transverse slots or ducts which correspond in number to the ducts a of the top section and register therewith, as shown in Figs. l and 2. This second section is preferably constructed from a blank composed of a central bar or strip provided in its upper surface with deep parallel saw cuts or grooves b2, extending from edge to edge thereof, and marginal strips 3, glued to the longitudinal edges of the central strip, so as to close the ends of the grooves, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. strips are of the same depth or thickness as the grooved central strip, and after gluing the three strips together the blank so formed is severed lengthwise in a plane which intersects said grooves at or slightly above their bottoms, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figs. 7 and 8, thereby cutting away the bottoms of the grooves and leaving a section with slots or elongated ducts extending through the same, as shown in Figs. l and 2. The lower portion of the blank, which is cut away, is waste stock and does not enter into the construction of the tracker-board.

The third or intermediate lower section C of the tracker-boar :l may be of about the same thickness as the sections A and B and is provided with a plurality of rows of slots or ducts c, preferably of rectangular form, which eX-l tend through the same. Three rows of such ducts are shown in the drawings, Figs. 4L and 5, and each duct is arranged to register and communicate with one of the slots of the superposed second section B. As shown in Fig. the slots of the three rows are staggered, or, in other words, arranged in oblique rows extending crosswise of the tracker-board, the middle duct of each of said oblique rows communicating with the central portion of one of the slots of the second section, while the two end ducts of the same row communicate with opposite ends of the two slots located immediately on opposite sides of its first-mentioned slot. For this purpose the slots of the several sections are of suficient length to extend across the area covered by the three rows of ducts 1n the third section, as shown The marginal IOO in Fig. 4. By this construction and arrangement, although the ducts are arranged closely together and in a single row in the top section A, they are practically spread out or divided into a plurality of rows in the third section C, the increased separation between the adjacent ducts in the latter section being obtained not by increasing the length of the duct area oi' the tracker-board, but by increasing the width of that area as the ducts approach the bottom of the board.

As shown in Fig. 5, the section C is preferably composed of four strips c' c2 c3 c", which are glued together edge to edge, three of the strips being' provided in one edge with rows or notches or saw-cuts, which form the ducts c and whose outer ends are closed by the smooth edges of the contiguous strips.

rlhe fourth or bottom section D of the tracker-board is preferably of greater depth than the superposed sections and is provided with cylindrical ducts d. These extend from top to bottom of the section and are arranged in as many rows and spaced the same distance apart as the ducts c oit the contiguous section, so as to register and communicate therewith. This bottom section preferably consists ot' a solid block of wood in which the holes or ducts are bored. In the lower ends of these ducts are secured the usual rubber tubes or other air-conduits, which are not shown in the drawings.

The several layers or sections ot' the board arelirmly secured together by gluing or otherwise to form a practically solid board.

It will now be understood that when the sections are assembled and united, as shown in Figs. l and 2, the slots b of the second section form continuations of the ducts a of the top section, the short slots c oi' the third section form continuations of the long slots and the cylindrical ducts Z of the bottom section form enlarged continuations of said short slots. It will be further seen that notwithstanding the comparatively close arrangement of the ducts in the top section those in the bottom section lare relatively far apart, turnishing the necessary room for the usual airtubes, which are considerably larger in diameter than the apertures of the top section.

This improved tracker-board, while providing the requisite area Jfor the convenient attachment of such air-tubes, permits the longitudinal rows of perforations in the musicsheets to be arranged very closely together, and this enables the sheets to be made correspondingly narrower, rendering them less liable to warp or puclier and insuring a correct registration of their perforations with the ducts of the tracker-board. Such narrow sheets can also be handled more conveniently than wide ones and can be produced at less cost on account ot' the saving in stock.

lt is obvious that the ducts of the bottom section might be made of rectangular or other suitable cross-section; but as the air-conduits leading to the same are generally tubular orv cylindrical the ducts are made of the same form.

I claim as my inventionl. A tracker-board, composed of an upper section having a row otl ducts or apertures, a lower section having a plurality ot rows ot' staggered ducts, and an intermediate section havinga row ofslots extending across the rows of ducts in the lower section and each connecting one of the ducts of the upper section with a duct of the lower section, subtantially as set forth.

2. A tracker-board, composed of a top section having a row of ducts or apertures, a bottom section having a plurality of rows of staggered cylindrical ducts, and intermediate upper and lower sections, the intermediate lower section having rows of staggered ducts which register respectively with said cylindrical ducts, and the intermediate upper section having a row of transverse slots extending across the rows of ducts in the intermediate lower section and each connecting one of the ducts of the intermediate lower section with a duct of the top section, substantially as set forth.

3. A tracker-board, comprising' an upper section having' a row oi. ducts or apertures, a lower section having a plurality ot' rows ot staggered ducts and consisting' ot' a number of longitudinal strips some of which are provided in their edges with notches whose open ends are covered by the contiguous strips, and an intermediate section having a row ot' transverse slots extending across said rows of staggered ducts and each connecting one oi the last-named ducts with a duct of the upper section, substantially as set forth.

et. A tracker-board, composed of an upper section having a row of ducts or apertures, a lower section having a plurality of rows ot' staggered ducts, and an intermediate section having a row of transverse slots extending across the rows of ducts in the lower section and each connecting one of the last-mentioned ducts with a duct ot' the upper section, said intermediate section consisting of a central bar having channels extending from edge to edge and from top to bottom thereof and marginal strips secured to the edges ot' said bar and covering the ends of said channels, substantially as set forth.

5. A tracker-board, composed of a top section having a row of ducts or apertures, a bottom section having a plurality of rows of staggered cylindrical ducts, and intermediate upper and lower sections, the intermediate lower section having rows of staggered ducts which register respectively with said cylindrical ducts and being composed of a number of longitudinal strips some ot' which are provided in their edges with notches whose open ends are covered by the contiguous strips, and the TOO IIO

With a duct of the intermediate lowei` section, IO substantially as set forth.

Vitness my hand this 11th day of November, i904.

EUGENE 'DE KLEIST.

Witnesses:

C. F. GEYER, E. M. GRAHAM. 

